1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of bear traps, and more specifically, to a bear trap that is controlled both manually and remotely.
2. Description of the Related Art
A major problem with conventional bear traps is that the operator must be physically present at the site to operate (i.e., open or close) the trap. Manually lifting the door of a bear trap—whether by hand or by connecting the winch cable to a vehicle—can be extremely hazardous due to the presence of the bear in the vicinity of the operator. Furthermore, conventional bear traps require the operator to travel to the field, which can take hours or even days, in order to release the bear. Sometimes crews must stay with the trap for days until a bear is caught because there is no way to monitor the trap remotely. In situations where it is not possible to leave a crew with the trap, the only other alternative is for trap operators to periodically visit the trap site, which can be prohibitively expensive in terms of fuel resources if multiple and remote sites are involved. Providing for remote operation of the bear trap would eliminate the safety risk to the operator, and it would also allow the operator to react more quickly if a bear is caught in the trap and immediate release is desired (for example, to reduce bear stress and/or mortality rates). Satellite technology allows the remote computer to be located anywhere in the world.
There exist a number of inventions directed toward bear traps, but none that possesses the technological advantages and structural features of the present invention. For example, U.S. Patent Application Pub. No. 20050097808 (Vorhies et al.) describes a remotely activated animal trap with an electrically-actuated door-drop and a communications module that can be either mounted on or separate from the trap. The door-drop is activated when the bait can, which has a magnet secured to its bottom, is moved by an animal such that the magnet is no longer situated directly on top of the magnetic proximity switch on the floor of the trap. The magnetic force opens the switch, and when that force is broken (for example, when an animal pushes the bait can away from the switch), the switch closes and a battery causes the catch solenoid to retract, thereby setting of a series of mechanical reactions that result in the trap door closing.
At the same time, a signal is sent to home base indicating that an animal is in the trap. The trap communicates with the home base via radio frequency (RF); therefore, the home base must be within RF range of the trap. The home base receiver forwards the data signal to a computer either directly or via packet modem. A major drawback of this invention is that the home base computer must be within RF range of the trap. In addition, this invention does not incorporate the ability to watch the trapped animal via a camera or to monitor the temperature inside the trap, nor does it incorporate the door arming mechanism of the present invention, which is specifically suited to deal with larger animals and heavier doors.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,509,770 (Gardner, Jr. et al., 2009) deals with a pest monitoring system for collecting, communicating and analyzing information from a plurality of pest monitoring locations. This invention does not deal with large animals, nor does it necessarily involve a trap. According to the specification, the pest monitoring location may be—but need not be—a trap, and the types of pests at issue are insects and rodents. The application goes into no detail at all concerning the construction of the trap, and the only activity being monitored is the presence of a pest. The invention does not provide the ability to watch—via live camera—an animal within a trap or to monitor the temperature within the trap, nor does it disclose a trap that is physically constructed for the purpose of containing a large animal.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 986,010 (Kennedy, 1911), 1,255,798 (Schuckman, 1918) and 2,478,605 (Symens, 1949) all disclose animal traps without any remote actuation or monitoring.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,775,946 (Wright, 2004) discusses the use of radio frequency transmitters and receivers to identify and display the current state of a plurality of animal traps. This invention does not involve the use of satellite technology, nor does it disclose any structure for a large animal trap.
None of the above inventions provides for remote operation of a bear trap, via satellite, with cameras for viewing the bear inside the trap, sensors for monitoring the temperature inside the trap, and a structure that is designed to capture and contain a large and powerful animal. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a bear trap that may be operated remotely in addition to manually. It is a further object of the present invention to provide the ability to monitor by camera a bear caught in a bear trap and to monitor the temperature inside the trap to determine when it may pose a health risk to the bear. These and other advantages of the present invention are discussed more fully below.